London Parks

Hello:  James here.  I've been silent up to this point -- not because I didn't have anything to say, mind you, but because I had not yet mastered the nuances of using Blogger.  (Thanks to Jen and John for helping to educate me!)  I flew home to Atlanta from London on Sunday the 12th, so I can't really post "real-time" comments here.  Instead, I thought I'd do a series of posts with some random thoughts/observations about my trip.

One of the nice things about this visit was the fact that I didn't feel any pressure to hit the typical tourist spots.  I had visited London twice before, so this visit was more about relaxing and enjoying London's quieter charms.   I was fortunate to have Aruna as a wonderful tour guide, not to mention John and Jen, who both know the city better than I do.

On past visits to London, I spent virtually no time in the city's parks.  This time around, I visited four:  Primrose Hill, Hyde Park, Regent's Park and Hampstead Heath.  Our first full day in the city involved basking in the sun on a warm Sunday at Primrose Hill.  It was a perfect start to the vacation: we bought wine, bread and other tasty treats, spread them out on a picnic blanket and alternately ate, drank, and snoozed in the sun.  Here's a shot of Aruna and Jen contemplating a vast expanse of green.  (Note the carton of chocolate vegan ice cream in Aruna's hand, which proved to be delectable):

But this day was not all about relaxing.  As you'll see from the next photo, we brought our softball mitts in order to brush up on our softball skillz for an upcoming match.  Here's John, looking rather majestic against the bright blue sky, pondering the possibility of playing some pitch and catch with his trusty mitt:

After downing bottles of chablis and rosé, munching a variety of tasty snacks, and tossing around the ball, we made our way home from the hill, but not before snapping this heroic photo of our silhouettes:

 

All in all, a wonderful day, notwithstanding our close encounter with a flatulent and scantily clad gentleman who chose a spot near our blanket for his afternoon calisthenics, and notwithstanding our accidental disposal of a corkscrew, chronicled elsewhere on this blog.

My next park visit was with John, with whom I traversed Hyde Park on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, following a visit to the utterly fascinating Victoria and Albert Museum, whose cafe is pictured here:

Unfortunately, I failed to photograph Hyde Park, but I was struck by its immensity and by its "wildness" -- it is much less manicured than most of the major urban parks in the U.S. that I have visited.

On Wednesday, we visited Regent's Park for a surprisingly eventful game of softball with Turner's London office.  (See the blog entry entitled "Taking One for the Team" for the gory details.)  Londoners use Regent's Park for all sorts of athletic activities.  On my brief visit, I witnessed matches of cricket, football (i.e., soccer), and, of course, softball in the park.  Here's a shot of the Regent's Park softball pitch where Turner's "CNN Thrashers" team worked its magic:

Finally, on Saturday the 11th I visited Hampstead Heath with Aruna.  Unlike some of the balmy days that we enjoyed previously on the vacation, this was a typical English summer day:  a bit rainy and blustery, with some pretty chilly temperatures.  Nonetheless, we were undaunted, and we managed to have a picnic lunch notwithstanding the inhospitable weather.  As with Hyde Park, I was struck by the wildness of Hampstead Heath.  There are certain locations within the park where you can easily lose sight of the fact that you are in the midst of one of the world's largest cities.  For example, consider this view:

Looks pretty remote, doesn't it?  Fortunately, Aruna brought an umbrella to protect us from the elements:

I was happy that I had the chance to visit these various outdoor oases in London.  Each had its own distinctive character and added its own little bit of flavor to my London visit.